We Fit Together Like Dovetail Joints (Or Something)
by Domestic Servant
Summary: The war has ended and Sasuke was back in Konoha. Everything was finally going to go back to normal, right? Wrong! Sasuke decides to take a permanent leave of absence from the ninja life and...take up carpentry instead? Wait, what! (Warning: this is pure self-indulgent Sasuke-centric fluffpoop, proceed with caution)


**Hey, so here's the thing. I kinda fell out of the Naruto fandom a few years back and suddenly found myself back into it after a horrible fit of curiosity. To be honest I thought the series had ended already...apparently not. Anyway, this is purely self-indulgent. It's an AU-future fic after the final battle so if you're not caught up then probably...I don't know. Read at your own discretion. Also, I kinda skipped like 200 chapters while catching myself up to the manga. I stopped reading shortly after Itachi died and started back right as the battle with Kaguya started.**

**Anyway, this is all pure weird fluff. I love Sasuke's stupid character so the focus is on him a lot.**

**Bear with me if you can. I have no idea where this is going. **

**Try not to expect much. **

* * *

In the wake of its rebuilding, Konoha found itself expanded past the old walls that guarded it in its earlier days. Many refugees made their way to the Village Hidden in the Leaves and used the opportunity to establish new boroughs on the very edges of its borders. Everything save for the main buildings in the town center found itself rearranged more or less, in order to accommodate the influx of population.

The little boroughs themselves started off as small refugee settlements during the early stages of rebuilding Konoha and slowly they rooted themselves into the earth until they became just as natural to the cityscape as the Hokage monument. Still, the boroughs were stigmatized, being created by outsiders, and so they mostly kept to themselves. They were largely civilian and self-sufficient, only contributing to the village in the forms of harvested goods at the local farmer's markets and artisanal crafts. Really, all they wanted was a place to call home and some good old classic shinobi protection. The war had made many people jumpy and suspicious, to say the least.

It is in one of these small neighborhoods overlooking a wide field of crops settled by various nomadic refugees, five years after the war, that we find our very own Uchiha Sasuke sliding a table out from inside a small, dignified carpentry shop and into the morning sun. His calloused hands smooth away the sawdust from the tabletop that had settled onto it overnight and begins meticulously sanding the naked wood.

Wait…what?

That's right, Uchiha Sasuke, self-proclaimed avenger of the fallen Uchiha clan, #1 rookie of the year, missing-nin, probably S-rank criminal in some parts of the known world, leader of Team Taka, cold-blooded Sharingan whatever whatever, etc…was now a young master carpenter living a qiuet civilian life.

His hand brushed his long bangs from his forehead, wiping sweat off his brow. It was still early, but already pretty hot. He set down his sandpaper and walked inside to get a glass of water.

Pausing at the window on his storefront, Sasuke stared at his reflection. He barely recognized himself. For all the hours and days spent walking and wandering the lands with Taka, Sasuke still managed to remain pale. Now, after five years of helping his nieghbors harvest their crops, cutting wood in the forest, and learning every trick of the trade from his late woodworking master, Sasuke's skin had developed a slight tan. He figured he was still very pale when compared to his darker counterparts like Kiba or Naruto, the likes of which he hasn't seen in quite a while, but if he had his old avenger self standing next to him staring at the same window, there would definitely be a marked difference in skin tones.

He decided that he preferred being tan. It made him less…Uchiha-like.

He had also grown his hair out too. The only downside was that his hair doubled in unruliness as it grew and dealing with it in the summer heat was almost unbearable. The thickness could rival that of Madara's. But he figured it was worth it. He looked young with short hair and too much like his former self. And the whole point of living so far into the outskirts of Konoha was to escape the baggage that he had been carrying for so long.

Sasuke sighed, walking into the store for that glass of water, and pulling his hair up into a bun as he went. It was way to hot for just a ponytail and all the neighbors around him knew better than to comment on how feminine the bun made him look anyway. For those who didn't know, they would learn.

Yeah, Sasuke was a civilian now, but that didn't stop him from training every now and then. He mostly stayed away from ninjutsu and anything to do with his Sharingan. After all, his eyes were pretty important for carpentry, and his Sharingan was kind of counter-intuitive for keeping healthy eyes. He already had to wear glasses to read.

He quite enjoyed being a civilian, anyhow.

As it turned out, despite announcing to anyone who was anyone that he wanted to become Hokage, Sasuke ended up becoming very much the opposite. In the aftermath of the war, Sasuke never really found the energy to leave the Konoha faction of the allied forces after they finally figured out how to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Coming down from the high of their teamwork and victory against who he now dubbed as the ultimate ninja boss, he and Naruto hugged out all of the lost years of their friendship. Of course, Sasuke cut the intimate contact short after a few seconds, but he never left Team 7's side until they reached the burning rubble of Konoha. He was hesitant to admit out loud that he was returning to his childhood village, until Taka found their way to them and asked "Where to next?" Sasuke shrugged and that was that. He was tired and the idea of wandering the lands for the rest of his life frankly made him want to jump off a cliff. His gesture was mostly understood by Taka. Karin ended up staying in the village if only to be close to Sasuke (although she found herself falling more and more in love with her newfound purpose as a leading innovator in the healing arts, and quickly forgot about the Uchiha. Especially since he so easily slipped into anonymity shortly after getting back.) Juugo stayed too, doing something with an animal sanctuary last he heard. Typical Juugo. Suigetsu had made a face and declared something about roaming the lands and dealing with unfinished business, punching Sasuke in the shoulder in goodbye, and getting swiftly (and violently) reprimanded by Karin for doing so. Naruto called out to him saying he was welcome back anytime. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

After a few weeks back in Konoha, he ended up staying at his old compound. As expected, he hated it. He suspected the place was haunted because he definitely felt extra presences following his every footstep. He spent as much time as he could outside of the walls of the Uchiha complex, spending time with his peers and old teachers, helping out and supervising the rebuilding when he could.

To Naruto, his best friend, things seemed to be returning back to normal. Everything that had happened between their first Chuunin exams and the present was but a blip in the timeline of their epic friendship.

To Sasuke, things were falling apart fast. Days past and he felt heavier and heavier with the prospect of having to face the Rokudaime (Tsunade had since left her post, as she deserved the rest, and Kakashi reluctantly accepted the position. As much as he pretended to hate the responsibilites that came with it, he was doing a fine job, mostly thanks to his fantastic assistants and advisors) and the remaining members of the council. He thought he would be more excited to finally cleanse the Uchiha name of all the dirt and grime that had been piled onto it since probably the conception of the village. But really, the thought just left a bad taste in his mouth. He would look around himself at brand new buildings being erected and wished he could recreate himself into a man shiny and new and devoid of all the gross things that had occurred in his life. He didn't consider it cowardice. Mostly just reluctance to open those particular cans of worms after spending so much time and energy living a life of perpetual chaos.

And so one day, about three months after returning to Konoha, he requested a meeting with the Rokudaime.

Kakashi looked up from an official looking folder he was examining, no doubt shielding a well-worn copy of Icha-Icha.

"You wanted to see me, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke shifted in his place, his hitai-ate bunched up in his hands.

Kakashi cleared his throat, setting down his folder (erotic novel.) "Is this about—"

"No!" Sasuke interrupted. "Ahh, excuse me, no. Hokage…sama." His face scrunched as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. He had long since stopped referring to Kakashi as sensei, unlike Naruto or Sakura, and he didn't usually speak to the man so formally on the outside either, not really caring enough about how that reflected on him as a subordinate. But within these walls and under the intense gaze of his former teacher, he felt super exposed and super uncomfortable. And he wanted to butter the man up.

"Try to act less comfortable, Sasuke-kun. Now, what is it you want?"

A heavy sigh. "I would like to formally request to be released of my duties as a Leaf-ninja."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. Definitely not was he was expecting at all, although he wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting. "Maa…that's a lot of paperwork and red tape I would have to go through to approve that. Do you get a kick out of making my life difficult? What makes you decide this, so out of the blue, anyway?"

"I just…don't want this life anymore," Sasuke closed his eyes ran his hands through his hair. He had already begun growing it out in those early days and it was already near shoulder-length. Impressive, he thought absently. He had so much more to say but couldn't find the energy or words to explain. Kakashi, thankfully, understood everything he couldn't put into words.

"You do intend on staying?" The question was simple but loaded.

Sasuke opened his eyes at that, knitting his eyebrows together in frustration. "Well, yeah, of course. All I want is to step down from my position as a ninja, not go on some self-indulgent blood thirsty quest. I'm not 12.

This time it was Kakashi's turn to roll his eyes. "I never said you were. But even so I had to be sure. Naruto is about obsessed as they come and frankly I can't really afford to let him chase after you like some crazed roadie. He's needed here. "

"You have my word," Sasuke said, mockingly raising his hand.

Kakashi examined his former student. He had changed considerably in the past few months. He was still mostly a silent observer amongst his peers, but he was a lot more passive and geniunely calm. Definitely not the murderous traitor that he encountered many times before the onset of the war. And while he seemed to have found his way back into the close-knit rookie nine, and there were times where he seemed to really enjoy the company, Kakashi found Sasuke appear more and more desperate for _something_ everyday. Desperate for what, he couldn't put his finger on, but seeing the young man in front of him now, he knew that Sasuke was itching for some kind of escape. Kakashi reckoned that that was all Sasuke had ever wanted in his life ever since the Uchiha massacre. Everything he did was some roundabout way of running from things he didn't want to face, most of them revolving around the legacy of his clan. He couldn't really blame him, all things considered.

At that moment Kakashi felt an unwavering sympathy for Sasuke. As annoying as it would be to expedite Sasuke's request, he would do this one favor for him. Nothing that really mattered ever came easy for Sasuke, so Kakashi thought now is as any good a time to use his power to give Sasuke this one break.

"Maaah, I suppose I can make this one exception for you. You're lucky this time around. Now, get out of my sight, Sasuke-kun. Consider yourself a former Konoha lackey. Stay out of trouble, though. Or you'll be answering to me."

Relief flooded Sasuke's face. He stepped up to the desk and set the hitai-ate in front of Kakashi. "Thank you…sensei."

Kakashi placed his hand on top of the forehead protector as he watched Sasuke leap out of his window and through the rooftops of Konoha. He idly wondered how Naruto, who had just the other day left for a three month long diplomacy mission to Suna, was going to take the news. He shrugged and picked up his book, forgoing the cover of the folder now that company was gone. He would deal with Naruto when the time came. After all, Sasuke probably timed this for a reason.

Sasuke had been overjoyed. The meeting with Kakashi had gone smoother than aniticipated. Now he could finally life a life anew. He walked into his compound and gathered his few belongings, everything fitting into a small rucksack. He left most of his weaponry behind, keeping only his katana and summoning contract. Locking the gates of the Uchiha compound for the last time, Sasuke set off in the direction of a neighborhood he had familiarized himself with in the past few months. Within the hour he spent walking (Konoha had really, really grown) Sasuke found himself in an outer borough of the village, home to many formerly nomadic tribes and given the unoriginal name of the Nomadic Sector. During the early stages of rebuilding, he helped out a local carpenter in said neighborhood create wooden furniture for people's homes and had kept in contact with him ever since.

He approached the storefront of Takumi's Carpentry and peeked inside. He saw the old man sitting inside, idly carving a block of wood. Bells over the doorway jiingled as he opened the door and Takumi looked up, giving the familiar face a partially toothless smile.

"Well well, look who it is! Haven't seen you in awhile. What brings you to these parts, my boy?"

Sasuke gave a light smile. He really enjoyed speaking with Takumi.

"Ahh, I was wondering if the space above your shop was still vacant? I decided to move out of my complex…it's too big for just me," _and probably too haunted to rent out _he finished in his head.

Takumi examined the young Uchiha. "Yeah, it's still empty. I ain't gonna give it away for free."

"I have money."

At that, Takumi shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I don't want your money, boy. I want you to work for me. You helped out months ago and I saw your potential. I think you'd make a fine woodworker. Besides, I'm getting old and won't be around forever. I need someone to keep this little place going. Would you care to become my apprentice, in exchange for a place to call your own?"

That was enough to convince Sasuke. He honestly couldn't believe his luck. He was desperate to erase any semblance of being a shinobi and so put all of his energy and efforts into learning the meticulous craft of woodworking. It required nothing but sweat and dedication, two things Sasuke had more than enough of.

Eventually, Sasuke's apprenticeship grew into mastery, spending the better parts of next five years traveling around to different countries, building a network of connections with woodworkers in nieghboring villages, and learning new techniques. With the sad and untimely death of Takumi, he had become the sole proprieter of Takumi's Carpentry. He kept the name as an homage to the old man, of course. And with it, he made a more than decent living, having gained notoriety for beautifully handcrafted custom furniture throughout the lands and a good amount of loyal followers, especially amongst the nobility.

The best part of all was he hadn't ran into or spoken to any of his former friends in those five years. He missed them some days, but he relished in this new found anonymity. Nobody in the Nomadic Sector knew a thing about the Uchiha name. They had spent much of their lives traveling the lands, focusing only on their survival, and only giving a damn about ninjas when it made their lives inconvenient (read: the Fourth Shinobi World War.) The only one who really knew about his past was Takumi, and Takumi knew to keep quiet. Sasuke didn't mask his knowledge of swordsmanship though, and trained weekly when he had the spare time, reveling in the admiration of the small children that inhabitied the tight-knit neighborhood.

He was an Uchiha after all, and he loved the attention when he chose to have it.

It was a loud thunk that jolted him from his long-winded trip down memory lane. Setting his glass of water down, he ventured outside to his storefront. After a couple seconds, his face fell, looking on in horror at an incoming silhuoette of a friend he hadn't seen (had probably kind of been avoiding) for years.

"Uhhhhh…" was all he could get out before he was blinded by a swirling ball of chakra.

"SASUKEEEEEHHHHHHHHH"

The man in question was rooted in his place. He squinted his eyes shut, bracing for impact, and holding up a flimsy scrap of wood for protection, but also sheilding his the table from any damage. He had never felt so pathetic, but also if that table was chipped even a little there would be hell to pay.

However, bodily impact never occurred. Instead, he felt the wall behind him explode into shards from the pure whirling energy of Naruto's Rasengan, and when he opened his eyes and looked to the right, he saw Naruto's arm lodged into the side of Takumi's Carpentry, and Naruto himself staring defiantly at Sasuke. Well, this was certainly unexpected.

"I expect you to pay for these damages…Usuratonkachi."

Sasuke smirked. His it never failed him. A look into Sasuke's inner-conscious would find the image of Sasuke preening himself and shooting handguns at his reflection.

Naruto, however, was not amused. He had spent his entire adolescence chasing after Sasuke and after finding out that Sasuke had no intentions of leaving Konoha after the war, he thought that things would finally return back to normal or something along those lines. And they had…for a while.

Turns out, Sasuke had disappeared yet again just three months after returning to Konoha! And under Naruto's own nose no less. He still remembered Kakashi casually mentioning Sasuke stepping down from his duties as a shinobi after asking the Rokudaime if he had seen the Uchiha. After all, he had just returned from a long mission out in Suna, and he really missed the Uchiha, and wait WHAT?

"KAKASHI-SENSEI ARE YOU FUCKING OUT OF YOUR MIND?!"

Kakashi smiled sheepishly. "Well, you asked."

"How could you allow that? Where is he? Where is that good for nothing bastard?!"

To be honest Kakashi had no idea where the Uchiha was, but he told Naruto that he moved to a small apartment somewhere in the outskirts of Konoha and he wished for his whereabouts to remain unknown. For a guy who was bullshitting his way out of an uncomfortable conversation with a relentless Naruto, Kakashi was doing a pretty fine job.

But back to the situation at hand. Even with his nearly constant long-term trips to allied villages in the name of peace keeping and diplomacy, coupled with pretty regular A and S-rank missions, Naruto diligently searched the confines of Konoha for any clues of Sasuke's whereabouts during his few free days. One would think this feat to be simple and over with in no time at all, but considering his longest mission to date had lasted a year, helping build and establish a working ninja academy in Otogakure, he wasn't super surprised that it took him this long to find the Uchiha, even if he _had _really been in Konoha after all.

"Teme…we haven't seen each other for five years and that's how you greet me? Also, can we talk about how you'd basically skipped out on me again? While I was on a mission? It took me so long to track you down—_in my own village which you and I live in. _You couldn't like, wait for me to come back from Suna all those years ago and just let me know how you were feeling? Uhgg sometimes I just hate you. "

Naruto retracted his hand from the large hole in the wall and clenched his fists at his sides, squaring his shoulders, and…pouting.

"I'm sorry, but if I recall correctly, you're the one who blindsided me with an assassination jutsu instead of, I don't know, opening the door like a normal person. There's bells, so I would've heard you come in." Sasuke pointed to the top of the doorway. "Also, you act as though I broke up with you in the most undignified way. So dramatic. You may have grown in appearance, but you're still a moron."

Naruto's face fell. Okay, so maybe his entrance was a little overdramatic…

"Sasukeeeeehhhhhh, I just wanted to be friends with you again and you make it so hard! And it felt like you broke up with me. I'd never felt so rejected in my life. Sakura could say no to me a thousand times and I'd still feel a lot better than I did when Kakashi told me you'd disappeared yet again." Naruto crossed his arms and pouted harder, if that was possible, and glaring as Sasuke rolled his eyes and went back to sanding the tabletop.

"We are friends. Now go away."

But Naruto was not so easily gotten rid of. "That's not what I meant, teme. You've been away for so long and now that you're here you're still so far away. I just…I miss you is all. We got along so great after the fight with Kaguya and then you disappeared again. I mean what the hell! Talk about leading a guy on..."

Sasuke stopped and turned away. Why did Naruto have to make their friendship seem so homoerotic. Ok, perhaps there was some weird tension between them that they'd both been kind of ignoring all those years, but really. Naruto could never cut him a break. Especially now. This conversation was so loaded on so many different levels and adding those small remarks about their questionable friendship was not helping him to go about this confrontation with a rational mind.

He felt Naruto's eyes on him as he stared at the sawdust on the ground. He wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment but it was pretty unpleasant. Seeing Naruto again after such a long time was disarming to every carefully constructed wall he'd put up to avoid confronting any and all shinobi-related responsibilities associated with the Uchiha name.

"Naruto…" he started. "Naruto...I'm not going to apologize for deciding to live my life a certain way. I just haven't been ready to face certain things yet and I was breaking down . It's not like I wake up everyday and say to myself 'Sasuke, you know the drill, avoid Naruto and everyone associated with your past at all costs.'"

(Actually, he totally says those exact words aloud over during his Sun Salutation every morning.)

Naruto rolled his eyes and huffed. "Please, everything about your life right now screams avoidance; and its not like I'm upset that you're no longer a ninja. We all have our reasons for doing the things we do, and I'm not about to question your fucked up backwards logic. Can't we just like, hang out for once? Somewhere? It could even be in secret. I'll be dead before we do anything together at this rate. Sakura's been telling me to just give you space and let you come to me but its been five years and I'm _tired of waiting_."

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked at Naruto. Now that he thought about it, this was a pretty dramatic moment. The sun had begun to set (wait the sun was already setting?) in the distance and the street he was on had a very clear shot of it lowering itself between two distant mountains. From an observer's perspective, he could imagine their two darkened silhouettes facing each other as the sun crept down slowly out of sigh—

Naruto snapped his fingers in Sasuke's face.

"Oi, teme, back to earth. What's with the thousand-yard stare? We've been standing here in silence for 10 minutes."

Sasuke blinked. He really needed to spend less time inside his head.

Shaking himself out, he peered at Naruto through narrowed eyes. "Dobe…"

"Hey! Who's the dobe now, teme! You make tables for people less important than me and below my paygrade! Hah!"

"…Dobe…before you so rudely interrupted me," Sasuke cleared his throat and glanced to the side. "Since you went through the trouble to track me down, I suppose we could spend some leisure time together. Also, talk down my profession one more time and I will saw your hands off in your sleep. I've crafted pieces for Kings. Idiot."

Naruto scratched his cheek and laughed nervously.

"Nehehe, sorry. But yatta! Friendship victory, game-set-match! Although, why you gotta be so formal about it? Leisure time, pft. Yeah, whatever you say, Shino.

Sasuke glared. "I'm still expecting you to pay for these damages."

"Eeeehhhhh? A ninja's gotta pay for bills too you know! I go on a lot of high-class missions but I don't have a bottomless wallet! What's a little fun between old friends, neh?"

"Should've thought about that before you destroyed part of my property. Usuratonkachi."

"What? Can't you fix it yourself? You build stuff for a living now! You're like a master! Sasukeeh!"

"I can have you formally reprimanded for destroying civilian property without due cause in addition to beligerantly coming at me with an intent to kill and/or mortally would me. There were witnesses you know."

"Sa-Sa-Sasuke…" Naruto gaped at his friend. Formally reprimanded? For a hole in the wall? Assassination jutsu? Civilian? Witnesses? Hell! No! He would be put on probation for sure and that could not happen under any circumstances. He put his hands up in surrender. "Mahh, fine fine you win. How about this? How about I help you rebuild this wall, neh? We can hang out and do something constructive at the same time. Neh? Neh? I'll even buy the supplies. Just hand me a list and I'll get them!"

Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about this plan, but it was better than being dragged into the village's center where he would probably run into every single person he didn't want to run into.

"Hn, fair enough. I need to finish this table though. It's due in a few days. Come by tomorrow and I'll have a list for you of what we'll need."

Naruto smirked. "Hmm, presumptuous, Uchiha. I could have a mission tomorrow!"

"Do you?"

"No."

"Then we're fine. Can you go now?" Sasuke waved Naruto off with his hands, rolling his eyes as he watched his old friend leap on the rooftops and out of sight. He was joined a moment later by his neighber, Akane-baba. Akane was a middle-aged lady who ran a vegetable stand in the farmers market in downtown Konoha. She gave a lot of her surplus harvest to Sasuke. His favorites were her heirloom tomatoes. So full of rich, deep flavor. They made the best tarts.

She smiled at Sasuke. "I see that boy quite a bit whenever I'm in town. I wasn't aware you two were acquainted. He's so nice."

A small smile found its way onto his face. "Hn, we go way back. Kind of. He's ok, I guess."

And with that he turned around and walked back into his shop, bidding goodbye to his neighbor after receiving a bag full of vegetables from her, but not before carefully lifting the unfinished table and setting it inside. He looked at the gaping hole in the side of his shop and sighed. Grabbing a couple spare planks of wood, he quickly fashioned a make-shift patch that would have to do for the time being, just so his tools and works in progress weren't left exposed.

Finishing the patch job, Sasuke walked up the stairs that led up into his apartment. He clicked the light on, illuminating his living room. After taking a few glances around the room, he began tidying up the place. It's not like he had a lot of belongings lying around, naturally gaining a minimalist's mentality during his nomadic days. But that didn't prevent life from piling up around him. Mugs were scattered here and there along with woodworking books, stray tools, and blocks of scrap wood that he would idly practice his hand-carving on. He was currently working on a new design vaguely inspired by the Sharingan but no one had to know that detail except for him.

Sasuke looked at the clock and saw that it was still fairly early. Making himself a cup of tea, he grabbed his notebook and began reviewing his notes for the table he was currently working on. The job was coming along fairly smooth, as expected for such a simple commission. Tables were the first pieces of furniture that he really mastered during his tutelage under Takumi and were his favorite to make. He looked at the table he was currently using, it being the first complete piece he made all on his own. He was particularly proud of this one, having come up with the design and dimensions for it himself. His hands brushed the inlaid design on the tabletop, the opposing pieces of wood stained different shades so that the design would pop.

Somehow, Sasuke had found himself to be a natural at the kind of minimalist design that was really in right now. He wasn't sure if all of his dead anscestors were turning over in their graves or not at what he was currently doing to pass his time in this life. He tried not to think about how his life choices were reflecting on the notorious Uchiha name. He just really liked making things for once instead of destroying them. And the fact that he got paid pretty well for it was just extra.

Sasuke shut his notebook and set down his now empty cup of tea. Tired from the days events, he made his way to his bedroom, flopping down on his bed after changing out of his dirty work clothes.

He just couldn't believe he saw Naruto today. It's not like he'd been trying to stay away (ok he had), but really…he'd been so careful to stay in the confines of his quiet neighborhood in the outskirts of Konoha. And when he left the village on his many excursions, he always passed through the gates heavily disguised. He saw his peers many times without being recognized, but he never thought to really change his appearance when he was back at his shop. He wondered who tipped Naruto off at his location. It could've been anyone.

"I'm always being betrayed," he muttered to himself half-heartedly before turning over and falling asleep.


End file.
